The Conference on College Communication and Composition brings together a potpourri of theoretical outlooks and approaches to teaching writing, but in fact many of the participants have much in common. They are all developing theoretical projects that, while they are not completely compatible, are all manifestations of a desire to innovate, to transform composition theory and literacy education. Many would be inclined to say they are on the margins of composition studies, but then there are at least three problems with such a claim. First, their work is probably not that original; it is far more likely that many educators at work on something similar. Second, it is nearly impossible to claim a marginal position when the center of composition studies itself is shifting according to the location of the observer. And third, the mainstream of composition studies continues to incorporate innovative and progressive theoretical projects into itself. Nevertheless, there is probably a difference between progressive composition scholars and the mainstream. If it is hard to detect at times, it is because those in the mainstream, while they continue to teach in traditional ways, incorporate the language of the margins into their discourse. It is imperative that instructors teach their students not only to be fluent and capable in writing for a variety of contexts but to be writers who have the confidence to open dialogues that may be liberating--that is, with the potential to stimulate the hard work of revising existing social contexts. (TB)

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